How Gridware’s grid monitoring sensors won over a career lineman

A company called Gridware makes small sensors that clip onto utility poles and watch for signs of trouble on power lines: vibration, sound, and changes in the electrical field. The devices are solar-powered and install in minutes with four screws. They're placed on every other pole, and because power lines connect each pole to its neighbors, the sensors can pick up a problem on the "buddy pole" in between and pinpoint where it is. That matters most for a hazard called a high-impedance fault, where a downed wire or tree branch touches something without cutting off power. Normally the utility has no way to know until the fault causes an outage or starts a fire. Gridware's sensors can catch these silent faults early.

The technology got a strong endorsement from a former lineman at PG&E, the Northern California utility, who was initially skeptical after years of watching similar sensor products fail to help crews in the field. He changed his mind after seeing the sensors catch a fault that could have burned nearly 500 structures across 45,000 acres. He has since retired from PG&E and joined Gridware.

PG&E has installed over 10,000 of these sensors across roughly 900 miles of its lines as part of its wildfire prevention plan for 2026 through 2028. Gridware also works with other utilities, including Xcel Energy, Con Edison, and Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh. This kind of monitoring is not something a homeowner buys directly, but it can mean faster outage response and reduced wildfire risk in areas served by utilities that adopt it.